A power module has so far been an important device for energy saving that is used in a wide range of fields from power control to motor control, for example, for industrial use and for automotive use. The power module includes a substrate on which a plurality of semiconductor chips are mounted, and a plurality of contact terminals that contact the respective semiconductors of the substrate to perform input and output of power.
The contact terminals are required to ensure electrical conduction between an external circuit substrate and the substrate of the power module. To meet this demand, contact terminals are disclosed (refer to Patent Literature 1 to Patent Literature 4, for example), each of which can conduct electricity by employing an elastically deformable contact spring, contacting the respective substrates as contact targets, and applying an elastic force between the substrates. The employed contact spring can compensate changes in distance between the conductors due to, for example, variations in the distance between the conductors, temperature change, and warping of the substrates, and thus can maintain a contact state between the two contact targets.
Contact terminals are also disclosed (refer to Patent Literature 5 and Patent Literature 6, for example), each of which has a curved shape for holding a bar-like or plate-like conductive member. A contact terminal is also disclosed (refer to Patent Literature 7, for example), in which two curved beams contact each other at ends of the contact terminal, and the contact portions slide on each other according to a load applied from a substrate as a contact target so as to allow the contact terminal to expand and contract.